Speed thrills

Dark humour rides shotgun in the form of a skeleton with one driver. - Track maintenance crews water and pack the mud oval into race conditions. Heat, wind, sun are all factors that affect the surface which drivers and pit crews will adapt to for the race. - Drivers warm up their machines while pit crews listen to their engines and inspect the track. - Pit crews and drivers push and pull cars out of their trailers for race night at Red River Co-op Speedway. - Corn fields line the track. - Drivers in formation move their "Modifieds" toward the green flag to start an evening of racing under a prairie sky. - Fans enjoy the sights sounds and smells from the grandstand. - Racers round the corner on the slick dirt track race. - Racers Glenn Manning (left) and Jamie Vernaus butt trucks in front of an appreciative crowd. - Drivers warm up their machines while pit crews listen to their engines and inspect the track. - - Rounding the corner in a blur. - Action on the dirt track race night at Red River Co-op Speedway. - Rob Comeau gives the racers a green flag to start the action. - Glenn Manning parades the Canadian flag during the national anthem before opening race. - Race crews send hand signals from the sidelines to drivers. - Tavia Dorge barrels past the pit area under the evening summer sky. - Friends catch a thrill ride back to the pit after the races. - Klayton Sadlowski of Big Top Fireworks sets off a blazing show to celebrate 40 years of racing at Red River Co-op Speedway. -

They call it The Fastest Sport on the Prairies — and who can argue with that?
Throughout the summer on Monday and Thursday evenings, the call of the (gasoline-fueled) wild draws hundreds of competitors and fans to the the Red River Co-op Speedway just south of Winnipeg on Highway 75. The track celebrated its 40th anniversary on July 31, demonstrating that, for many, there is no better way to end a long, tranquil
August evening than with the roar of stock cars and the flash of the finish-line flag. Photos by Phil Hossack.

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